This was a modified van, with equipment arranged on both sides and only wide enough in the middle for a single person to sit. Three people sat cross-legged in the center.
Harten and Jimmy were sitting near the back door; Harten gestured to the driver in the front to drive off.
"Agent Harten, would you like a doughnut?" Jimmy opened up his own box of doughnuts, sharing with everyone in the van. Luckily, there were bottled waters in the van; he hadn't brought any with him when he left earlier.
The FBI agents were highly professional; no one spoke during the drive, just worked on the equipment in front of them.
Since Agent Harten wasn't talking about the case, Jimmy leaned against the side of the van and dozed off.
Indeed, having been a police officer for a long time initiated his ability to doze off anytime, especially sitting up, as the driver's seat in the police car couldn't be pushed back, and you could only rest by sitting, not lying down.
Jimmy had no idea how long it had been, but he'd moved from dozing to sleeping soundly—he was laid back by nature, never considering that the FBI would harm him. After all, it was Director James himself who brought people over, so their identities had definitely been verified.
Agent Harten woke Jimmy, opened the back door, and got out of the van. Once Jimmy stepped out, he looked around. They were in front of a two-story detached villa in a forest.
This was a new location for Jimmy, but that was normal. He had only been a police officer for a year, and it wasn't possible to have visited every area within the vast expanse of Plaskey County.
Once inside the villa, Agent Harten set up a room for Jimmy on the second floor while the other FBI agents began setting up various devices on the first floor—two desktop computers, three laptops, some monitors, and other equipment Jimmy couldn't identify, crowding the space.
In the living room, Agent Harten pushed the sofa and table against the wall and hung up a map that included Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. He then started to pin various photographs and documents onto it.
Everyone had something to do except for Jimmy, who wandered aimlessly around the villa.
Cars could be heard outside, and Jimmy looked to see a pickup pull up. The FBI agents went to transport items from the truck bed into the house.
Jimmy walked over to take a look—wow, they seemed to be planning on staying quite some time here: bottled water, instant noodles, bread, biscuits, chocolate, frozen pizza kept cool with ice packs, military ration packs he had seen in a past life known as MREs from the US Army, a toaster oven, and a kettle...
For the seven of them here, the supplies could last more than a week.
"Agent Harten, are we going to be here a long time? I didn't bring any clothes to change into."
"Spare clothes will be sent over soon. For now, just put your uniform and duty belt in the room. You won't need them today."
Jimmy watched them continue their tasks speechlessly and went to his room, where he undressed from his police uniform and duty belt and placed them on the bed. Thinking ahead that he would need them eventually, Jimmy folded the uniform neatly, wore his sweater, and tucked his revolver behind his waist. He left the room, unable to do anything about his pants and leather shoes for the time being.
After over two hours of bustling, the entire first floor transformed into what looked like a command center. Their plainclothes arrived, and Jimmy picked out a set to change into, stowing his police uniform and shoes away to ensure they'd be tidy and ready to use next time.
"Hey, Jimmy, come downstairs," Harten called from below. Jimmy responded and went downstairs to join Harten.
"Jimmy, this is Camp, Jacob, and Korbin. These three are in charge of intelligence collection and communications. This is Agent Grant and Agent Randall, who are responsible for fieldwork with me. Gentlemen, this is Jimmy, the Deputy Sheriff of Plaskey County, who will provide support for this operation.
Jimmy, I won't hold onto your phone, but it's best not to make any unnecessary contact with the outside."
After Harten introduced everyone present, they gathered around the case map Harten had set up earlier.
"Our target is this man, Baka Reddy, 45 years old. He came to the United States in the 70s and became a citizen in 1983. He previously arrived in New Orleans as a crew member before moving to Little Rock."
Harten pointed to the top photograph. An Indian man, bearded but without a turban, which led to the assumption he probably was not a Sikh.
"Baka has been involved in shipping. He employed some crew from India, leased a cargo ship, and worked with shipping companies at the port of New Orleans, mainly operating between India and the United States. Rumor has it he's involved in smuggling, but that's not our focus.
From 1995 to date, several robberies and murders can be traced back to him, involving Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas—places closely linked to his shipping routes. He's appeared on surveillance footage near crime scenes three times, and one case even revealed his fingerprints at the scene.
We've been tracking him for a long time to pinpoint his location and have garnered some information from his crew.
Lately, his movements have been unclear. He was last seen near his company in the New Orleans port and then disappeared. Based on the information, he's likely returning to Little Rock, with his expected arrival within these few days.
We have others surveilling his apartment in Little Rock. We've confirmed that one of his safe houses is about a kilometer from here, also within this forest. Our task is to monitor the safe house, gather information, and if necessary, arrest him."
After detailing the mission, Harten gave Jimmy and the others some time to process before continuing.
"These three photos show his known associates, all former Indian military, who may be armed. It's currently unclear if others have followed Baka back, as we don't have any related information.
Grant, Randall, you'll install surveillance cameras and listening devices under the cover of darkness, setting up two relay stations between our place and Baka's house. Camp will give you the coordinates for the relay station setup later.
Jimmy, you can rest for now. There's no support task for you yet, so stay alert because we might mobilize at any moment."
After saying this, Harten looked at the material on the case wall once more before speaking again.
"Also, based on information from a crew member on Baka's ship, yet to be confirmed, Baka is a devout believer, although his particular faith is unclear. He's known to be paranoid and violent, rumored to have beaten a crew member to death before tossing the body into the sea. When you go to install the surveillance, if they return, make sure you avoid close contact."
Once Harten finished, Camp and his team left to continue working at their equipment, and Jimmy didn't try to understand what they were doing or join them.
Jimmy headed back to his room. As for dinner, considering that everyone else seemed busy, it was unlikely anyone would handle it soon. Jimmy didn't want to start on it himself, so he left it as it was. After all, he wasn't hungry yet, having had doughnuts in the afternoon.